Hand-brake for railway box-cars



1. F. o'coNNoR. HAND BRAKE FOR RAILWAY BOX CARS.

APPLICATION FvlLED FEB. 4, 1920. Y

vented May 24, 192L.

Pai

' Jfzmzar Q L v I l UNITED STATES' ISATENYT OFFICE.

JOHN F. ocoNNon, or CHICAGO., rumors, AssiGNon To WILLIAMH. iviINER, or cHAzY, NEW YORK.. y

HAND-BRAKE RAILWAY BOX-CARS.

Specification of Letterslatent.

Application filed February 4, 19520.l Serial No. 356,346.

is a full, clear, concise, and` exact descripiy tion, reference being had to the accompany-` ing cation.

This invention relates to improvements in g hand brakes 'for railway boX cars.

The object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple economical and e'hcient hand brake of the lever ratcheting type which is particularly adapted for use on bOX cars and which may be so located as to be operable from the roof ofV the car while at the same time, when not .in use, no unda sirable projections remain to interfere` iny any possible way with the movements brakeman on topof the cars. i

In the drawingizorming a part :ot this specification, Figure 1 is an end elevational view of the upper portion ofk a railway box car otordinary construction showing my improvements in connectionf therewith.

of the Fig. 2 isv an enlarged sectional view takenV through the improved hand `brake on` a plane substantially parallel with the end wall of the car. ,Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view corresponding substantially to the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.y And Fig. L is an enlargeddetail sectional view taken substantially on the line l--et of Fig. 2. f r

In saiddrawing,r the box car isl indicated by the reference 10, the same having the usual top running boardV 11, roof 12, top grab iron 13 and roof boards 14 from the side of the car to the running 'board 11 at the end of the car.

. The improved brake, as shown, includesA a hollow substantially cylindrical main or base castingjA,ua cover plate' B, a chain winding drum` C, a chain or other fleXible connection D, an operating lever E, yan operating handle F, a locking dog Gr, and means hereinafter described ymore specilically,.for holding the lever Ein retractedy inoperative position.v

' The main castingor vided with anintegral main wall 15 and def pending arms 16 which are bolted tothe drawings, forming a part of this specifi-A housing A isproend plate 116 of the car. The casting A is provided with an outer partition 17, thereby .forming a chamber within which the chainwinding drum C is accommodated and. the chainwound around the drum.

The drum C is journaled at its inner end in a suitable bearing 18 formed in the wall 15,. and, at its-outer end, is similarly journaled in a suitable bearing 19 provided in thepar tition 17. A bolt 20 passes through the hub C and is adapted to hold the cover plate Bf in place and all of the partsV in assembled relation.y

.,gfThe drum C is provided with a combined radially and longitudinally extending recess as indicated at 21 to thereby provide a lug 22y on the drum over which the end link: of the chain isadapted to be hooked. Said linlris held in assembled position after the insertion of the bolt 20, as will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 3. The brake is so positioned that somewhat less than onc-y halipf the upper part of the cylindrical housing or casing projects up above the roof boards 14.

`For rotating the'drum C, the latter is provided with an integral ratchet wheel 23 located in a plane just outside of the parti! tion 17. Beyond the ratchet wheel 23, the drum C is provided with a section 24: ofi'e duced diameter which Jforms a bearing for a hanger 25 which is loosely oscillatably mounted thereon. lower end, is provided with an integral boss 26 which forms'a pivotal support for the lower end of the arcuate `operating lever E, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The contour of the. lever E is arcuate, as abovek indicated, and extends through approximately 180C and on its inner side isprovidedwith a single pawl tooth 27. adapted to cooperate with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 23. Said lever E is extended outsider of the housingr for the brake through a suitable arcuate slot 2S and the latter is` normally covered and protected from-the elements Lby an arcuate'plateshield 29 ysuitably attached to the lever E asV indicatedl at 30. ,1

It is ri'iecessar-y that the operating pawl' assume an inoperative position when Ether brake isv not being operated so that thefbrake may bereleased, after itihas been applied, or, after it has been released will so remain untilnext operated. To insure thisI employ a rod 31 which is pivotally connected Patented May 24., 1921.

The hanger 25, atfits` to the lever E as indicated at 32, which rod extends normally vertically downward within a spring shell 33 secured to the main housing or casting of the hand brake. The rod 31 carries a follower or washer 34 onrits lower end between which and a fixed rib 35 is interposed the spring 36. The lever E is suitably cut away as indicated at 37 to accommodate the rod 31 as the lever E is oscil Y lated to apply the brake. lith the construction just described, it is evident that the spring 36 will react through the rod 31 in such a way as to normally hold the lever E disengaged from the ratchet wheel. At

` Athe same time, the arrangement is such that the lever E may be swung into operative position with the ratchet wheel 23 and rotated oroscillated in unison therewith, in a counter clockwise direction, through a reasonable arc which, in actual practice, will be sufhcient vto advance the chain winding drum an amount corresponding to two or three teeth on the ratchet wheel. By locating the rod 31, as indicated, it is evident that its deflection from the vertical will be comparatively small. The` lirst deflection will occur as the lever E is moved to engagement with the ratchet wheel and then as the oscillation of the lever E occurs in a counterclockwise direction, the rod 31 will approachl formed integral with the partition 17. Said' dog G has a single tooth 40 which coperates with the ratchet wheel 23, the handle 41 of the dog extending to the outside of the casing through a suitable slot 42. To obtain a desirable leverage, the lever E haspivoted thereto'the handle F, the lever E being forked as indicated at 43 for this purpose and supporting the pivot pin 44 which eX- tends in such direction that the handle F is oscillatable about said pivot 44 in planes perpendicular to the end wall of the car. In other words, t-he pivotal arrangement is such that the handle F will fall over on to the roof ofthe car` as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3. During the operation of the brake, it is desirable that the handle F be so interlocked with the lever E that the handlewill not accidentally be tilted out of its proper plane` and to accomplish this in a simple manner not requiring any attention from the brakeman, the fork 43 of the lever E nearest the position assumed by the brakeman is provided with a notch 45 as shown in Fig. 4. The adjacent end of thek handle F is provided with a corresponding tapered rib indicated at 4G adapted to swing into the notch 45 and to permit this slight oscillation of the handle F on the pivot 44, the opening in the handle for the pivot pin 44 is slightly enlarged as indicated at 47 inFig. 2.

As vwill be evident, when the brakeman pulls on the handle -F in the direction indicated by the arrow .fr in Fig. 1, the handle F will be properly centered and Vheld with respect to the lever E.

With the construction shown, the bra-keman is enabled to obtain considerably greater leverage than is obtainable with the ordinary types of vertical staif hand brakes now in general use. Furthermore, the improved-brake presents no undesirable obstruction or projections to the passage of the brakeman from one freight ear to another and the location of the brake is such that the brakeman can easily obtain a grip with his left hand while exerting his strength to apply the brakes with his right hand.

Although I have hereinV shown and described w'at I now consider the preferred manner of carrying outthe invention, the same is merely illustrative and I contem plate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the `claims appended hereto.v

I claim:

1; In a hand brake mechanism adapted for use at the top of box cars,the combination with a housing, of a member rotatably mounted therein having a ratchet wheel rigid therewith, a. locking Vdog coperable with said ratchet Wheel, a pawl-operating lever extending through the housing upwardly, spring means normally holding said pawl-operating lever in inoperative rev tracted position, and a handle pivotally attached to the outer end of said lever, said lever oscillating in a plane parallel to the end wall of the car and the handle being v pivotally movable on the lever in planes perpendicular to the end wall of the car.

2. In a hand brake mechanism adapted for use at the top of railway box cars, the combination witha housing adapted to be secured to the end wall of the car, of a chain winding drum .rotatably mounted Within said housing about a horizontal axis and provided with a ratchet Wheel, a locking dog coperable with said ratchet wheel, a hanger oscillatably supported vfrom said drum, a pawl-operating lever pivotally` mounted on said hanger and extending radially upwardly to the exterior of the housing, a handlefor said lever, and spring means normally holding said operating lever in Ainoperative retracted position.

3. In a hand brake mechanism adapted for use at the top of railway boX cars, the combination with a housing adapted to be secured to the end Wall of the car; of means,

'associated with said housing, for effecting tightening of a brake chain and including a lever extending upwardly to a point outside of the housing, said lever being oscillan table in a plane parallel to the end Wall of the car, a handle pivotally attached to said lever about an axis adapting the handle to swing in planes perpendicular to the end wall of the car, said lever and handle having coperating recess and rib to center andV maintain the handle relatively to the lever When pulled in a chain-tightening direction. 4. In a hand brake mechanism adapted for use at the top of railway box cars, the

combination With a housing; of means for effecting the tightening of a brake chain including a ratchet Wheel and a paWl-operating lever coperable therewith, said lever bein of substantially arcuate form and eX- tending partly about the ratchet Wheel and oscillatable inthe plane of the latter, a rod pivotally attached` to the lever on the side thereof remote from the ratchet Wheel, and spring means acting through said rod to hold said lever normally in inoperative retracted position.

In Witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 20th day of J an., 1920. y

JOHNl F. OCONNOR. 

